I recently had the pleasure of delivering a 3 hour seminar on presentation skills to a group of continuing education students at a local college.  They were studying web development and would be graduating in the following year.

(more…)

I just read a blog post of an interview with TED curator Chris Anderson who reveals the secrets to a great TED talk.  If you have yet to experience the delight of a TED (Technology, Entertainment and Design) talk then go to the TED website and knock yourself out.  In this interview, Mr. Anderson is asked, “What kills a presentation?”  His reply . . . . .

(more…)

There is a relatively new presentation tool out there called Prezi.  It is a different way of organizing your thoughts for presentations and presenting them in an interactive format.  While Prezi is cool because it is different, it is not the solution for bad presentations as some have made it out to be.  I have read some blog posts saying it is impossible to be boring with Prezi.  My answer to that is never underestimate the human potential.

(more…)

You make several presentations to your department and to people in other departments of your company.  These type of presentations are difficult to prepare for because your meetings and presentations are often frequent, you do not have many resources for the preparation of your presentation and handouts and you don’t have a lot of time.  With time, money and assistance not available, how can you provide handouts of your presentation that will re-enforce your message?

(more…)

Many prophets of presentation design and skill speak about the horrors of adding text only to slides, word for word.  On top of that, there have been studies showing that reading the text off of a slide, word for word is not effective.  I tend to agree with this however every now and then someone comes along and breaks the rules with flair and brilliance.

(more…)

I have contributed to and have been following a blog by Olivia Mitchell, “Speaking About Presenting” where she asked for her reader’s opinion on What would you like to see in PowerPoint slide design in 2009?   I have often wondered if other cultures thirst for better presentations and communications. 

(more…)